Senior Combat Designer (Encounters)

What You’ll Do

• Create and script engaging gameplay encounters that highlight the core systems and pacing of the project.
• Work closely with the Combat Lead, World Lead, and Systems Lead to determine the best possible technical and creative approaches for encounter design.
• Act as the owner for key encounters, populating the world with handcrafted moments that surprise and delight players.
• Partner with multi-disciplinary pods to build and polish encounter content through scripting, layout iteration, and review.
• Drive collaboration with stakeholders across AI, progression, exploration, and narrative to ensure variety and seamless world integration.
• Identify and evangelize best practices for encounter scripting and implementation workflows.
• Deliver work within established project targets and maintain the high quality standards of the company.

What We’ll Do Together

• Support the creative vision of the project, ensuring the design intent is translated into a performant reality while taking ownership of complex design challenges.

Skills & Experiences

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the video game industry.
• Experience on at least one AAA project as a Designer, or Senior Designer.
• Deep experience scripting encounters and developing compelling moment-to-moment gameplay.
• Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine and visual scripting tools.

Who You Are

• A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment.
• A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism.
• Experienced in working in cross-disciplinary teams with strong communication skills.
• Persistent and self-motivated with a proactive mindset.
• Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure, ambiguity, and fast-changing priorities.
• An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization, understand differing perspectives, and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence.
• Highly open to feedback and direction, possessing a desire to learn new skills, and capable of producing quick, quality revisions based on new insights or constraints.
• A strong ownership of tasks, striving to drive work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization, ensuring high standards of quality.

Who We Are

• We strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative, immersive, and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits.
• We work openly, learn through play, take ownership, push ourselves to be better, and deliver for our players.

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $100,200 and $148,320 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company's discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.